6 minute read
CROWNING GLORY
Any bus company that has been in business for more than half a century must be doing something right and for Melbourne based, family owned and operated, Crown Coaches 54 years in business has taught some pretty strong lessons about running a bus operation. We take a look at Crown Coaches and why they have embraced Daimler buses, in particular the new Fuso Rosa.
Since its inception back in 1967, Crown Coaches has grown to become one of the leading bus and coach operators in Melbourne. Unlike the well-known namesake casino group, this is not a company that gambles with anything. In fact, Crown Coaches is all about taking the safest options.
Crown’s main operations are in the education sector, catering for school student transport, to and from campuses, to sports events, excursions and school camps. But Crown also has a strong involvement with students with disabilities and the aged care sector and in general charter, so safety is a vital ingredient in its success.
With that sort of passenger profile, it is easy to understand why safety is a key factor in everything it does, and especially in the type of buses it chooses.
Crown’s business development manager, Ivan Furlanetto told Coach & Bus that safety is the company’s mantra and is vital when operating in the particular markets Crown targets, because there can be no compromise when it comes to safety.
“We actively look for safety features in every new bus we purchase, particularly with seat belts, disc brakes and electronic safety technology,” said Ivan Furlanetto.
“That is one of the reasons we choose the Fuso Rosa as our small bus, especially with the latest model, because it comes equipped with lots of safety gear as standard, like passenger seat belts, disc brakes, ESP and lane departure warning,” said Ivan.
Crown says it was actually one of the first bus services in Melbourne with seatbelt-equipped vehicles across its entire fleet, ensuring extra levels of safety.
“Safety has always been the company’s highest priority, ensuring that our valued
clients have absolute peace of mind travelling with us,” said Ivan.
“Rosa’s other advantage for us is the extra three seats it delivers as well as the climate control air conditioning,” he added.
And according to Ivan it is not just safety but also passenger comfort, which is of importance to Crown, with all its vehicles fully air-conditioned, as well as having GPS tracking and two-way radio communication with the operations team.
The company also employs Evident Solutions Coach Management System (CMS) to ensure quotations and bookings are always efficiently managed and allocated for. CMS manages Crown’s entire business, managing all departments such as Maintenance, Human Resources (incl. payroll), Operations, Compliance, Financials and Training, what Ivan describes as, a ‘seamless client experience’.
Crown currently operates a fleet of 150 buses, ranging from the Fuso Rosa 24seat minibuses, up through its mid-size buses with capacity up to 43 passengers, and with full-size coaches taking up to 61 plus passengers. As well as being firmly aligned with Fuso with its small buses, Crown has a strong relationship with Daimler, with an all Mercedes Benz large bus fleet, using Mercedes Benz 1228s in the mid-size operations, and the 0500 RF E6 models in the upper end.
The company also boasts that it is one of Melbourne’s largest wheelchair accessible charter bus fleets, especially thanks to the introduction of 23 new wheel-chair capable vehicles into its fleet in recent times with the latest model Mercedes 1228s featuring state of the art wheelchair lifts.
Crown says it has been providing contracted services to the Victorian Department of Education for more than 35 years, providing the daily transport
requirements for more than 700 students at many of the Special Development Schools throughout Melbourne and surrounding regions each school day. These contracted services utilise vehicles with varying capacities from 21 to 43 seats, and all operated by an experienced driver and disability carer, which underlines the extra lengths Crown goes to ensure it meets the expectations and needs of its passengers.
“We believe the only way for the business to get better is to embrace and actively look for the latest technology because that is what will deliver better safety and efficiency,” said Ivan.
While it doesn’t scrimp on new safety features and the latest hardware, Crown is happy to concede that it actively looks to save money on fuel and running costs.
“Fuel is an important part of the equation, and if we can reduce fuel usage by having the latest buses and the best efficiency, then it means we can be profitable and reduce pressure on our pricing to customers.”
Again, Furlanetto cites the new Fuso Rosa as a good example praising its fuel economy from the three-litre turbo diesel and also the efficiencies delivered by extended service intervals.
“The fuel consumption is very good with the Rosas and we are recording gains of between five and seven per cent compared with the older buses at the moment.”
“Also, the fact that they now have 15,000km service intervals, which is up from 10,000km, means the Rosas are off the road less and cost less to maintain,” he said.
Crown’s headquarters and home base is at its main two depots in Nunawading, while it also operates a third depot at Dandenong South, allowing it flexibility to cover a wider area of Melbourne more efficiently.
At the depots, Crown handles all of its own servicing, maintenance and repairs in house, not just regular services, but all mechanical, panel beating and spray painting, as well as trim and interior repairs.
“It is important for Crown in meeting our safety commitment to ensure all our buses are in absolute top condition all the time, but it is also important that we ensure our buses are always well presented and look great for our passengers,” said Ivan.
Furlanetto says that Crown also knows and understands that the needs of its clients differ greatly, and it requires specific focus depending on the passengers they are transporting.
“We know that taking students to a school camp is very different from providing transportation for senior citizens on an outing and so that’s why we tailor our services to suit client requirements on an individual basis,” he told us.
“For instance, we also service many community groups that require elderly passenger transport options, including Probus Clubs around Melbourne and that requires a different approach to school transport.”
“The age care sector is a growing side of the business, which we take very seriously and have strongly focussed on,” said Ivan.
“Contracting to age care providers means that compliance is vital and that is something that Crown prides itself on with our strong documented compliance. ,” he said.
“We have 160 trained and accredited drivers as well as disability carers and they are the backbone of our organisation with their individual skills and commitment to safety and service being essential components of our success,” Ivan added.
“Our education teams are also well versed in the needs of any accessible transport requirements,” he added.
With Crown’s thorough approach to the task of transporting school students, senior citizens, students with special needs and the general public, it is easy to understand why it has enjoyed more than a half century of growth and success and it is apparent it will probably be around for another 50 years.
